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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance

Mayors and municipal counsellors in Côte d’Ivoire became more aware of the essential role of the Commune and the importance of dialogue with citizens. As examples from this project have shown, such dialogue required officials to be more transparent for example by regularly reporting to the population on their activities.
Project Partner
West Africa Network For Peacebuilding - Côte d'Ivoire
Project Description
The main focus of the project in Côte d’Ivoire was to put in place five departmental committees and one national committee for the monitoring of democracy and good governance. By strengthening the capacity of the members of these committees, the project promoted voluntary involvement in the management of communes and the exercise of civic control. By relying on the country’s policy of decentralization, the project helped local populations develop an interest in governing local affairs through learning about their roles as citizens. This was done through cooperation and engaging in dialogue with locally elected leaders. With this project the grantee integrated strategic priorities of the national decentralization policy into local governance. It also managed to take into account the context of the Ivorian crisis, which was characterized by a weakness of democracy and poor governance. It was therefore a kind of post-crisis pilot project on raising awareness and approaches to training in democratic education and good governance. The project could have applied a more nuanced approach in relation to the different groups that were part of the target population, particularly women and young people and provided more local support.
Evaluation Date
January 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance

There was a multiplier effect among the volunteers who were trained. They were in a position to drive further citizen participation following the end of the project. In particular, the women who participated in training sessions will ensure future awareness raising within their communities and women’s associations.
Project Partner
West Africa Network For Peacebuilding - Côte d'Ivoire
Project Description
The main focus of the project in Côte d’Ivoire was to put in place five departmental committees and one national committee for the monitoring of democracy and good governance. By strengthening the capacity of the members of these committees, the project promoted voluntary involvement in the management of communes and the exercise of civic control. By relying on the country’s policy of decentralization, the project helped local populations develop an interest in governing local affairs through learning about their roles as citizens. This was done through cooperation and engaging in dialogue with locally elected leaders. With this project the grantee integrated strategic priorities of the national decentralization policy into local governance. It also managed to take into account the context of the Ivorian crisis, which was characterized by a weakness of democracy and poor governance. It was therefore a kind of post-crisis pilot project on raising awareness and approaches to training in democratic education and good governance. The project could have applied a more nuanced approach in relation to the different groups that were part of the target population, particularly women and young people and provided more local support.
Evaluation Date
January 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance

The project was too ambitious to bring about the hoped-for change in behaviour, due to the vast geographic scope -18 communes - of the activities and the short length of the project.
Project Partner
West Africa Network For Peacebuilding - Côte d'Ivoire
Project Description
The main focus of the project in Côte d’Ivoire was to put in place five departmental committees and one national committee for the monitoring of democracy and good governance. By strengthening the capacity of the members of these committees, the project promoted voluntary involvement in the management of communes and the exercise of civic control. By relying on the country’s policy of decentralization, the project helped local populations develop an interest in governing local affairs through learning about their roles as citizens. This was done through cooperation and engaging in dialogue with locally elected leaders. With this project the grantee integrated strategic priorities of the national decentralization policy into local governance. It also managed to take into account the context of the Ivorian crisis, which was characterized by a weakness of democracy and poor governance. It was therefore a kind of post-crisis pilot project on raising awareness and approaches to training in democratic education and good governance. The project could have applied a more nuanced approach in relation to the different groups that were part of the target population, particularly women and young people and provided more local support.
Evaluation Date
January 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance

The budget was not balanced. The coordination team undertook the minimum of work with the beneficiary groups and instead relied heavily on the involvement of volunteers. While recognizing the importance of volunteering in civil society, activism also requires the necessary resources to carry out actions. The lack of resources compromised the quality and sustainability of the results.
Project Partner
West Africa Network For Peacebuilding - Côte d'Ivoire
Project Description
The main focus of the project in Côte d’Ivoire was to put in place five departmental committees and one national committee for the monitoring of democracy and good governance. By strengthening the capacity of the members of these committees, the project promoted voluntary involvement in the management of communes and the exercise of civic control. By relying on the country’s policy of decentralization, the project helped local populations develop an interest in governing local affairs through learning about their roles as citizens. This was done through cooperation and engaging in dialogue with locally elected leaders. With this project the grantee integrated strategic priorities of the national decentralization policy into local governance. It also managed to take into account the context of the Ivorian crisis, which was characterized by a weakness of democracy and poor governance. It was therefore a kind of post-crisis pilot project on raising awareness and approaches to training in democratic education and good governance. The project could have applied a more nuanced approach in relation to the different groups that were part of the target population, particularly women and young people and provided more local support.
Evaluation Date
January 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Civil Society Engagement for Democracy and Good Governance

Neither the civil society organizations at local level, nor the monitoring committees had the necessary autonomy to pursue further citizen oversight activities or provide minimum stability to their members. It is unclear that activities will continue after project completion.
Project Partner
West Africa Network For Peacebuilding - Côte d'Ivoire
Project Description
The main focus of the project in Côte d’Ivoire was to put in place five departmental committees and one national committee for the monitoring of democracy and good governance. By strengthening the capacity of the members of these committees, the project promoted voluntary involvement in the management of communes and the exercise of civic control. By relying on the country’s policy of decentralization, the project helped local populations develop an interest in governing local affairs through learning about their roles as citizens. This was done through cooperation and engaging in dialogue with locally elected leaders. With this project the grantee integrated strategic priorities of the national decentralization policy into local governance. It also managed to take into account the context of the Ivorian crisis, which was characterized by a weakness of democracy and poor governance. It was therefore a kind of post-crisis pilot project on raising awareness and approaches to training in democratic education and good governance. The project could have applied a more nuanced approach in relation to the different groups that were part of the target population, particularly women and young people and provided more local support.
Evaluation Date
January 2013
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campaign for Stressing Community Concerns and Seeking Political Resolutions in the South and South Centre of Iraq

The continuing role of both the facilitators and the nine implementing organizations ensured that the project’s central ideas were well-adapted to the requirements of the local context in each of the nine provinces of Iraq.
Project Partner
Iraq Civic Action Network
Project Description
The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.
Evaluation Date
December 2012
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campaign for Stressing Community Concerns and Seeking Political Resolutions in the South and South Centre of Iraq

The activities built the beneficiaries’ capacity to collect information, analyse situations and work with other parties in coming to a consensus view in establishing priorities and in understanding how to bring such issues and associated solutions, to the attention of decision-makers.
Project Partner
Iraq Civic Action Network
Project Description
The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.
Evaluation Date
December 2012
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campaign for Stressing Community Concerns and Seeking Political Resolutions in the South and South Centre of Iraq

The civic forums, provincial conferences and advocacy meetings between groups of community representatives and decision-makers, were notable in bringing citizens and elected officials together to consider community priorities and what might be done to address them. It is a testament to the effectiveness of the project that many of the issues raised have subsequently been addressed, or put on the agenda for practical action to follow.
Project Partner
Iraq Civic Action Network
Project Description
The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.
Evaluation Date
December 2012
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campaign for Stressing Community Concerns and Seeking Political Resolutions in the South and South Centre of Iraq

A particularly innovative feature of the project was planning, implementing and using the findings from a large-scale public opinion survey, based on a random sample of 3,000 individuals, drawn from the population in the nine target provinces in Iraq. The report on the survey provided essential input to discussions on local priorities, in particular how to use non-violent methods in dispute resolution. The use of this survey was a positive factor in the success of three of the major, sequential activities of the project: the local focus groups, civic forums and provincial conferences.
Project Partner
Iraq Civic Action Network
Project Description
The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.
Evaluation Date
December 2012
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Campaign for Stressing Community Concerns and Seeking Political Resolutions in the South and South Centre of Iraq

The project had an uneven performance in securing the participation of women. Given the many barriers to women’s involvement in public activities in Iraq, this is not surprising. The grantee made considerable efforts to ensure the prominence of women as facilitators, panellists and experts but these were not always effective.
Project Partner
Iraq Civic Action Network
Project Description
The project’s overall objective was to establish a robust civil society, to hold government to account and to effectively involve citizens in decision-making. The project design was built, around the central role of a group of 18 facilitators, drawn from nine member organizations of the grantee’s own Iraq Civic Action Network, each of them based in one of the target provinces in Iraq. Each of these organizations was also the implementing organization at the project level. All of the stakeholder groups confirmed that the project provided practical knowledge on how to play an effective role in the political process and on how to become involved in decision-making. The grantee’s experience in organizing activities to strengthen local leadership and build up the knowledge and skills of representatives of local organizations, including political parties, proved to be an important asset in supporting a project strategy which fitted well with overall objectives, as well as the priorities of beneficiaries.
Evaluation Date
December 2012
Theme
Country